Aftermath
by Lilybet
Summary: There are somethings Arthur can accept, and somethings he can't. Set after Merlin's secret has been discovered. (One day it'll be AU!)


**A/N: This is what comes of re-watching the old series before the new one comes out. Long Live Merlin!**

****'You knocking me out?' said Arthur, half turned as he walked along the corridor so he could keep up his litany of questions.

'Magic,' replied Merlin, as he had been doing to the other dozen questions.

'And the Avanc?'

'Magic.'

'The Fisher King?'

'Magic,' Merlin replied with a small smile for the the dwarf on the bridge who had named him so.

'Morgana?'

'Magic,' Merlin said with a sigh.

'Merlin, why do I get the feeling you're not taking this seriously?' Arthur asked, catching the humour in the sigh.

'Sorry, sire,' Merlin said penitently, though clearly not penitently enough.

'You're not taking this seriously, are you?' Arthur pressed, opening the door to his chambers.

'Well, you have to admit you'd be pretty dense not to notice,' Merlin said without thinking. The whole of Camelot must be pretty dense if that were true; clearly his acting skills weren't as awful as Arthur always said they were.

'Are you calling me stupid, Merlin?' Arthur said in an offended tone, drawing out his manservant's name.

'Would I do that, sire?' Merlin muttered, taking the king's sword.

Arthur 'humphed' and walked away, thinking to himself. Since he'd found out about the truth of magic, and the fact that his inept manservant was a warlock, he'd been going back through his life and finding a lot of holes. The troll, the dragon, the Knights of Mediir, the soliders who wouldn't die. There seemed to be an awful lot of magic in his life. And that thought brought him to only one place. 'Merlin?' he asked, slightly tentatively.

'Yes sire?' replied Merlin, handing him a fresh shirt.

'My...my mother. Was that?' Arthur asked, not entirely certain he wanted to hear the answer. He knew it was magic, but was it Magic - the good kind, the true kind, the kind that meant his whole world had to be turned upside down again.

'Yes, sire,' Merlin said very seriously. Arthur looked out from behind the dressing screen. He was wearing his very wise face, the one that said he knew exactly what it took for Arthur to ask that question.

'So it was true?' he felt he had to press, in light of what he'd almost done based on that incident, 'What she said. About me, being, y'know...'

'Born of magic? Yes, sire,' Merlin said, oddly grateful that he'd got the whole story out of Gaius.

'Do, do you know who?' Arthur said, looking sideways at Merlin.

'Nimeuh,' he replied promptly, not wanting to examine his own memories of her too much.

'Oh. Right.'

Merlin tided a few things around the room, dumped the dirty clothes in the basket, generally anything to keep his mind off the question that had been humming through it since Arthur had found out. After years of hiding his secret, years of lies and misdirection, of performing magic right under Arthur's nose, it was out. And now he just had to know. 'Sire?'

'Hmm. Yes, Merlin?' Arthur said distantly, looking out the window but really looking over his memories.

'What are you going to do? About m-Magic?' Merlin stuttered over the word, changing his mind at the last moment. He just couldn't bring himself to ask his best friend what he was going to do about his warlock servant.

'What do you mean?' Arthur said, looking truly confused, as only he could.

'Well, it's kinda outlawed at the moment,' Merlin said with a minute sigh. And this was the man who thought hiding magic from him was hard.

'Yes. I suppose I'll have to do something about that,' Arthur muttered.

'You mean you're not going to-' Merlin blurted, before stopping himself.

'Going to what, Merlin?' Arthur asked, but Merlin just shook his head and piled the logs more neatly by the fire. Arthur sighed and took in the way he was holding his shoulders, and not looking at him at all. He may not have known Merlin's biggest secret, but he knew Merlin. 'Well, spit it out. I'll die of old age at this rate.'

'Burn me at the stake,' Merlin said quickly, his eyes widening as he realised what he'd said.

'Why would I do that?' Arthur asked, shaking his head. 'I'd have to find a new servant.' That lit up a thought in his mind and he went on, 'Ooo, what about Cedric?'

Merlin sighed, incredibly grateful that he had a prat for a master. Magic? No problem. Finding a new servant? Not a chance. 'Magic, sire,' he sighed happily.


End file.
